2020-01-13 Why Don’t We Just Turn That TV Off?

I read with interest an interview with Tom Brokaw, a famous NBC evening news anchor. He retired fifteen years ago already, so my kids don’t even know who he is other than he’s a shirt-tailed relative on their mother’s side. One day, even that won’t matter to them. But for those of us with some grey hair, he was a big name. While on the air, he was known to fairly present the news. He wasn’t afraid to go after a story.

Saturday, Brokaw interviewed with the magazine “Artful Living” in which he criticized the industry that made him famous.

“Everybody has a voice – and I think it’s great for people to have a voice- but there’s no way to verify what’s true and what’s not. It has no context; it’s just a 24/7 rage about what’s (curse word removed by me) people off across the board from the Left to the Right,” he told the magazine.

“It could be a unifying factor, but it’s a dividing factor, frankly. And that really troubles me as much as anything. I don’t know how we get beyond that. I don’t know what leader can come along and say, ‘Look, we’re all in this together. We’ve got to find a way to work together,’” he said.

“This is obviously the most unsettling time I’ve ever experienced in national politics, and I’m not saying that just from an ideological point of view. I’m not saying that as a Democrat or a Republican. I’m saying that as a journalist and as a citizen and as a grandfather,” he said.

I agree, but this problem isn’t a new development. Hardly. Everyone claims to be truthful, yet it seems everyone gets caught in lies. Why isn’t there someone out there we can trust? The answer lies within our own wicked heart. I remember a study by Nationals Geographic entitled, “Why We Lie: The Science Behind Our Deceptive Ways.” My take-away was the finding that people will deliberately keep believing a lie even though it has been proven a lie – provided that the lie fits into their own personal worldview. Astonishing, yet not so at all.

It seems to me, therefore, that we are getting exactly what we pay for. In fact, we throw good money after bad to get information. Good marketers recognize this as an opportunity and give the customer what they want, how they want it, and when they want it. They are delivering it up to us just as we demand.

All this reminds me of a bible passage. Imagine that!

Romans 1:28-32 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

That’s the audience. Who do you suppose might be behind the curtains of this worldly system?

Romans 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Could this be true? If so, then don’t we need to keep this verse in mind?

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is not truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

2 Corinthians 2:11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

How do we deal with all this? Well, I think the first thing is to recognize the enemy.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Have you put on your armor today? If not, then do it now. Don’t wait. What about the news? What about it? Can you decipher truth from lies? Is it even worth your time trying?

Father, protect us from getting sucked into the systems of the world which feed the lusts and sinful desires of the lost. You call us to be light in a dark world. Help us walk away from it and focus our attention instead on Jesus’ return. Let us stand firm and be alert. We desire to be holy, just as you are holy. Amen.